Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said Tuesday that Tua Tagovailoa will be the team’s starting quarterback in 2021.
“We want to be clear that Tua is our starter and we’re very happy with his development so far,” Grier said in the Dolphins’ season-ending address alongside coach Brian Flores.
Tagovailoa went 6-3 as a starter after replacing Ryan Fitzpatrick in Week 8. However, twice Flores benched the rookie and replaced him with the veteran Fitzpatrick late in the season. Tagovailoa threw three interceptions in the team’s must-win game Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, but Fitzpatrick was unavailable as a replacement in that one after testing positive for COVID-19.
Miami missed the playoffs with a 10-6 record.
“Tua, we’re very happy with; he’s our starting quarterback,” Grier said. “He did a nice job this year coming in as a rookie with no offseason and the challenge in dealing with all that. Very happy with him and looking forward to watching him progress here over a (full) offseason going into next year.”
The Dolphins hold the Nos. 3 and 18 picks in the 2021 NFL draft.
Tagoavailoa completed 64.1 percent of his passes for 1,814 yards and 11 touchdowns against five interceptions.
Fitzpatrick, 38, is an unrestricted free agent in March.
